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 Historic and Scenic Greeneville, Tennessee The main reason I was here in northeastern Tennessee was to retrace the steps of my great-great-grandfather, Ransom Myers. If you've been following my website, you may remember that Ransom fought with the Union Army in Corinth, Mississippi in 1862 (see News: June 30, 2001).
After serving in Corinth for a month, Ransom's unit was sent to Kentucky, where he was shot in the left arm by a Confederate soldier. His arm was amputated and he returned to his farm in Michigan to recover. He could've sat out the rest of the war but he felt so strongly about the Union cause that he re-enlisted in 1863. Of course, it's hard to fire a rifle with just one arm, so Sergeant Myers joined the 10th Michigan Cavalry as a mounted, one-armed courier.
A few years ago, I discovered a website devoted to Michigan Civil War history and learned that during the last two years of the war, Ransom's unit had fought here in northeastern Tennessee. Thanks to the website, I learned exactly where Ransom saw action during the war, including places with strange names like Strawberry Plains, Rheaville, and Chucky Bend. I enjoyed driving through northeastern Tennessee and visiting these areas as I envisioned the one-armed Ransom dashing across the rolling hills on horseback while carrying messages from one unit to another.
Ransom's regiment, the 10th Michigan Cavalry, is most famous for capturing the Confederate cavalry general, John Hunt Morgan, who led several raids throughout the Ohio River valley during the Civil War. Unionists called Morgan "notorious" while Southerners referred to him as a "hero." Either way, towards the end of the war, the 10th Michigan and a few other units chased Morgan all over eastern Tennessee and finally cornered him in the town of Greeneville, where, during the ensuing battle, Morgan was killed. Since I was following Ransom's footsteps, I decided that I, too, had to visit Greeneville.
I learned from a billboard as I was heading into town that Greeneville, Tennessee was also the home of America's 17th President, Andrew Johnson, so I stopped at the National Park historic site here that commemorated his life. The site is small by national park standards, less than a city block, but it's interesting, nonetheless, and includes Johnson's house, which is filled with numerous displays and paintings. Being the only visitor there, I talked to the cute-'n-perky young woman ranger at the front desk for a while, who told me all about Johnson's life. She said that she was also from Greeneville, so I figured she might've been a bit biased in her opinion of Johnson.
The only thing most people (including myself, before I visited Greeneville) know about Andrew Johnson is that he was the only president other than Bill Clinton to ever be impeached. Few people remember why Johnson was impeached, but most folks probably think that he must have done something wrong and wasn't a very good president.
According to the cute-'n-perky ranger, however, Johnson was intelligent and honest, and he stood up strongly for his beliefs in the U.S. Constitution. Johnson was an articulate self-made man, she told me, who started as a tailor here in Greeneville and worked his way up to the U.S. Senate where, after the outbreak of the Civil War, he became the only southern Senator not to resign from Congress. Because of that, and because Lincoln wanted to heal the wounds with the southern states after the war, Lincoln picked Johnson in 1864 to be his vice presidential running mate. Lincoln was assassinated the next year, just a few days after the end of the war in April 1865, and Johnson was thrust unexpectedly into the presidency.
As President (and a southerner), Andrew Johnson didn't believe that the South should be harshly punished after the Civil War. This irritated many of his northern colleagues who wanted to impose severe restrictions and penalties on the southern states. This dissension, according to some historians, ultimately led to Johnson's impeachment by Congress but by a single vote, Johnson retained the presidency. After he finished his single term as President, Johnson moved back to Greeneville in 1869 where he lived until his death, six years later.
Andrew Johnson was a bit of an enigma and, as I later learned, historians today are divided in their opinions about him. Was he a recalcitrant southern sympathizer who underhandedly supported slavery? Or was he a moderate who could see both sides of the issue and sought to heal the nation? It depends on your perspective.
Above left: Greeneville, Tennessee is a pleasant town with beautiful architecture, about an hour northeast of Knoxville. It was named for Nathanael Greene, a general during the Revolutionary War (and supposedly one of my ancestors), though Greene never actually visited Greeneville. You can see Greene's house in Connecticut in my update on July 20, 2001. Above right: My great-great-grandfather, Ransom Myers, fought in the the Union regiment that captured the Confederate cavalry general, John Hunt Morgan in this Greeneville house in 1864.
Above left: John Hendricks, curator of the Greeneville Museum, next to a photo of General John Hunt Morgan. John gave me a great 30-minute tour of his wonderful museum. Above center: President Andrew Johnson's home at the National Park site in Greeneville. Above right: Well, at least they're honest.
Above left: Jonesboro is a another beautiful town in northeastern Tennessee. My ancestor, Ransom Myers, also fought here. Above center: Jonesboro is the oldest city in Tennessee, dating back to the 1700s, and has a lot of interesting old buildings. It's a beautiful town. Above right: A Jonesboro advertisement in the pre-billboard era.
Above left: Walt Disney lied because Davy Crockett (1786-1836) wasn't born "on a mountaintop in Tennessee." Actually, he was born here on the banks of the Nolichucky River. This is a replica of his cabin, at Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park, near Greeneville, Tennessee. Above center: The Davy Crockett memorial. Above right: Some people get Davy Crockett mixed up with Daniel Boone. Crockett was the one who died at the Alamo while wearing a coonskin cap. His motto was, "Always be sure you're right, then go ahead." That's always been one of my favorite sayings.
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